Resilient shoe sole



Aug 13, 1963 HA LOMBARD ETAL 3,100,354

RESILIENT SHOE SOLE Filed D90. l5, 1962 FIG 1 l l l l I I I Y I I INVENTORS H n3 l5 nl,

,/- afn 0h75 /d/r/ ATTORNE)I 3,100,354 Patented Aug. 13, 1963 3,100,354 RESHJENT SHUE SGLE Herman Lombard, 1272 Bellmore Road, and Justin H. Strawgate, 2552 Towne House Circle, both of North Bellmore, NSY.

Filed Dec. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 244,426 4 Claims. (Cl. 36-25) This invention relates to shoe soles and more particularly to soles of a resilient nature providing increased comfort and support to the wearer.

There has long been in demand a resilient shoe sole which provides adequate support and yet offers such resiliency as to be comfortable. In many respects, these two objectives are irreconcilable.

With the foregoing in mind, We have devised a shoe sole which is adequately thickened at its outer rims so as to provide firm support. At the same time, the central longitudinal portion thereof, shaped generally as are the side contours of the foot, is cut away or grooved up to and through the toe section. As a result, most of the wearers foot is cushioned or suspended over a relatively thin floor of resilient material, so that various bottom contours of the foot are accommodated by the thinner floor which tends to conform thereto. However, the firm outer rims still provide adequate support with the major portion of the foot comfortably cradled over the thinner door.

The invention will be further understood from the following description and figures in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view illustrating a shoe having the improved sole, the sole being broken away and shown partly in cross-section;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the sole;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but illus- 3 trating a modified embodiment where the sole is provided with an integral heel structure;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the line -4--4 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the sole as shown in FIGURE 2.

The shoe body 10 is conventional as is the heel upper section 10a usually found in such shoes. The outer sole 1.1 is secured thereto by conventional means, e.g. by adhesive or the like. Sole -11 has a back portion which may be referred to as a heel section, and a front portion which may be referred to as a toe section.

Sole 11 may be fabricated of conventional resilient rubber which may be of the so-called crepe type, or of the more conventional forms of rubber, natural or synthetic. It has outer rims 12 and 13 which are of conventional thickness. By conventional is meant the usual thickness of rubber soles which is about 3A of an inch. It is to be observed however that while the outer margin of rims 12 and 13 conform to the conventional curvatures of the sole, the inner edges or margins y14 and 15 are generally parallel to the respective outer margins so that, in effect, the rims 12 and 13 comprise substantially sinuous strips at the respective side edges of the sole.

The major surface area of the sole 11 is occupied by the central longitudinal oor section 16 which is thinner than the remainder of the sole as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Thus, as an example, whereas the rims 12 and 13 may have a thickness of about 3A of an inch, the thickness of floor section 16 may be about one-third thereof, e.g. about 1A of an inch.

Of course, because of the curvature of the rim inner margins 14 and 115, the underside of floor section 16 is defined by such lines. As an example, in a satisfactory embodiment the rims 12 and 13 were each about 5%; of an inch across while the floor section l16 was about two inches at its widest portion, i.e., at the ball of the foot. 'I'he underside of floor section 16 is of channel form, the channel being defined by the curved margins 14 and 15 and longitudinally extending along the bottom of the sole without interruption from at least the heel section forwardly. |It will be noted, of course, that the bottom width of the channel is greater than the combined widths of rims 12 and 13V so that the floor section 16 is adequate to accommodate most of the underside of the foot.

The result of the foregoing construction is to effectively cradle the foot over the thinner resilient floor 16 so that the floor may largely conform to the foot curvatures. At the same time the sturdier rims 12 and 13 provide adequate support. 4It is most important that the bottom channel which forms the floor section ,16 is extended completely through the front toe portion or section 18. In other words, it is important that the rims 12 and 113 do not meet at the front of the sole since this would interfere with the cradling effect.

The modification shown in FIGURE 3 provides a heel portion 19. This simply comprises a flattened heel which is at the level of rims 12 and 13. The function of the heel 19 is to afford better cushioning during the stride when the wearers heel rst hits the ground. The central longitudinal channel still continues completely to the front toe 18 without interruption as in the first embodiment.

In either embodiment, the relatively thin, resilient floor 16, as defined by the inner curved margins `14 and 1S, will tend to give under the Weight of the wearer until its bottom surface approaches, in some areas, the lowermost portion of rims 14 and 15. In other words, the bottom channel becomes flatter under the wearers weight, the foot dynamically rising or falling accordingly. This cushioning action is in contrast With soles which rely on rubber projections or ribs to absorb the weight and the shocks of walking. Of course, the toe portion 18 may be provided with a slight closure rim which does not effectively interfere with the substantial continuity of the concave bottom channel for the essential purposes above described.

We have shown what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, but it is obvious that numerous omissions and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe sole having a heel section and a toe section, and comprising opposed side rims connected by a central door section, the upper surfaces of said side rims and floor section being at substantially the same level, the oor section being about one third the thickness of said side rims and having its underside elevated relative to the underside of said side rims so as to form with said side rims an elongated longitudinal bottom channel along the bottom surface of said sole which is defined at the sides by said side rims, said channel extending without interruption from at least the heel section up to and completely through the toe section.

v2. A shoe sole according to claim 13 and wherein said side rims are sinuous in shape with their respective margins parallel to each other.

3. A shoe sole according to claim 2 and wherein said heel section is at across the bottorn heel portion of the soie.

4. A shoe sole having a heel section and a toe section,V

and comprising side rims, and a central longitudinal channel dened by said side rims at the underside of said sole and forming a central longitudinal floor section along the bottom surface of said sole whichV is thinner than said side rims, said channel extending substantially without interruption from at least the heel section up to and through said toe section, each of said side rims termi# nating at the front ends thereof along the sides of said shoe sole.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Martin Jan. 4, 1921 Mason Jan. 14, 1930 Daly July 5, 1938 Gregg Aug. 6, 1946 Greenbaum Aug. 15, 1961 

1. A SHOE SOLE HAVING A HEEL SECTION AND A TOE SECTION, AND COMPRISING OPPOSED SIDE RIMS CONNECTED BY A CENTRAL FLOOR SECTION, THE UPPER SURFACES OF SAID SIDE RIMS AND FLOOR SECTION BEING AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME LEVEL, THE FLOOR SECTION BEING ABOUT ONE THIRD THE THICKNESS OF SAID SIDE RIMS AND HAVING ITS UNDERSIDE ELEVATED RELATIVE TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID SIDE RIMS SO AS TO FORM WITH SAID SIDE RIMS AN ELONGATED LONGITUDINAL BOTTOM CHANNEL ALONG THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF SAID SOLE WHICH IS DEFINED AT THE SIDES BY SAID SIDE RIMS, SAID CHANNEL EXTENDING WITHOUT INTERRUPTION FROM AT LEAST THE HEEL SECTION UP TO AND COMPLETELY THROUGH THE TOE SECTION. 